This coastal landscape just two hours from London has officially become a National Nature Reserve

With stunning white chalk cliffs and waving green hills, the Seven Sisters in East Sussex has long been a day-trip favourite. And now, its natural beauty is officially protected. On March 19, the landscape was officially declared England's newest National Nature Reserve.  

Sitting within South Downs National Park (only two hours from London by rail), the freshly inaugurated National Nature Reserve is about 1,500 hectares large – almost five times as big as Hampstead Heath.

Walking through Seven Sisters, bird lovers will be able to spot skylarks and yellowhammers flitting between the skyline, while those with a keen eye might catch a chalkhill blue butterfly or see bee orchid flowers. 

Alongside its thriving wildlife and rare meadows, the landscape boasts chalk grasslands which hide one of Britain’s largest aquifers, which provides fresh water to local towns. 

The white cliffs themselves have been immortalised in films like Atonement, Wicked and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as well as in Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘Sussex’, where he describes a ‘half-wild and wholly tame’ turf which ‘cloaks the white cliff-edge’. 

The announcement also marks a British milestone, as it’s the 13th park in the King’s Series of National Nature Reserves – of which he hopes to create 25 by 2028. Midway to being finished, this project is led by Natural England.

Chair of Natural England, Tony Juniper, said: ‘The Seven Sisters National Nature Reserve creates a bigger, better and more joined-up space for nature and paves the way for nature’s protection and recovery across more than 1500 hectares in this iconic part of England.’

On the same day of the announcement, King Charles III stopped by to officially launch the King Charles Coastal Path, which stretches the entire English coastline and is the the longest seaside trail in the world.

If you want to plan your trip, you can check out the King Charles III coastal map here – and don’t forget to pack suncream. 

Did you see that a new walking trail has launched around one of Cambridge’s most underrated museums?

Plus: the prettiest seaside towns in the UK for coastal getaways. 

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